Chapter 106: Harsh Reality
"When the dungeon kills the adventurer permanently, he/she will be absorbed for whatever amount of resources they have. Dungeon Dollars, the armour he is wearing, his knowledge, and also his soul. Hence, Money, Matter, Magic and Soul." Yun disclosed more about the system's dungeon in the Dungeon World.
"You mean the system actually kills the adventurer and uses them to build my shop?" Jin was a little uneasy with the fact that his shop was somewhat built on the dead adventurers.
"Why are you feeling uncomfortable with that fact? The meat that you eat comes from animals too. You were born to consume. It is a primordial cycle that you cannot avoid. If you are unwilling to take part in this, I will stop talking right now and even help you erase this portion of your memory. You can be forever ignorant and continue with your life as an above average dungeon supplier." Yun stood up and folded her arms as she talked down to Jin.
She knew that this was, after all, his decision, but if he wanted to be an outstanding dungeon supplier, he had to acknowledge the fact that he had to do that by standing on a mountain of corpses. In addition, even if he had not fully realised it yet, a person can't just catch a monster and make them unconditionally loyal to Jin in dungeons just like that, and she had been blatantly hinting it to him for quite some time.
Jin paused for some time while Yun quietly stood there with her arms still folded, continuing to stare at him as she waited for his answer. He started to connect the dots between all that was happening. The system and Yun were slowly guiding him, rewarding him items generously so that he could grow and ultimately benefit the system. He was in fact just a cog in the system's works but if it was some consolation, a very large cog. However, as repayment for helping the system, the system would make him a stronger person that ran a better dungeon supplier.
He also remembered the hard times he had suffered being alone, having to care for himself. While it is true, his grandfather was a retired general but Ming did not spare Jin in any way. Ming made Jin worked for what he wants, and if Jin did not get it, it was his problem.
"You want a new computer? Work hard for it. Get it yourself. I am already paying for your electricity bills." "What you got bullied by bullies? Here, books are on the shelves. Go learn them and challenge them again. Come back to me again when you succeed." The flashbacks of hardship of trying to get back up without any help made Jin thought twice about refusing the system's orders.
Would he really want to have the system removed from him? This luxury when he could finally lay back in life and just work sufficiently hard enough for life to pass by? If he just listened to the system, he assumed everything would be just fine. He never thought that this thing would occur to him.
Separately, this might be a simple end goal: to be the number one dungeon supplier, but who knew when people with evil intentions would want his technology or threaten him or maybe even Zhen Qing if he employed her. He was not entirely oblivious to this matter as he started to notice the actions of King's Monster subtly react to the opening of his store.
For the first time ever, King's Monster, a mega dungeon supplier in Shenzhen business district was offering discounts. There were even forum users in Pandamonium that casually compared the recent amount of human traffic in King's Monster and Boss Jin's stores and said that King's Monster was seeing a lower human traffic than ever before.
Hence, he figured he needed the help of the system to get stronger by whatever means necessary. If he needed to build the shop on a mountain of monster and human corpses to protect himself and the ones he loved and had an interest in, then so be it….or that what he thought at that point.
Jin would also never forget how his childhood was torn away by the loss of his parents because they were not strong enough. How he had been ostracised by other kids because he was parentless. As he grew older, he even heard weird and bad rumours that his grandfather Ming was actually his father, that Ming probably knocked up a young prostitute or two and that therefore, Jin was just the result of an unwanted pregnancy.
"Yun, I do not entirely understand this entire thing but I am willing to give it a try. Please explain more about how this dungeon in the Dungeon World works." Jin finally said with some resolution. Yun smiled as she continued.
"You know those monsters you captured? They are actually being utilised in this dungeon and each level has their own ecosystem that is similar to their world. In a way, this is their rightful home after you captured them." Yun explained with further details.
"When you use them in your dungeons, they will inevitably get stronger against the adventurers here because of the experience they receive. In return, those who kill your dungeon monsters and survive a dungeon floor, returning to tell the tale, they will find a treasure box with an enticing amount of dungeon dollars." Yun then opened up Mooogle Maps and typed the dungeon's coordinates into the digital screen and the maps showed the location of the dungeon.
"While I did say the Dungeon World is overpopulated, the system managed to create the dungeon at the edge of the world after a new wave of landmass arose in that world. So the dungeon is currently located in a very rural area with a small developing outpost, inhabited only by new and inexperienced adventurers coming to explore the frontiers."
"So in a matter of time, those adventurers will notice that this dungeon will be filled with death," Jin interjected.
"Yes, and therefore your job now is to not just supervise the shop but the dungeon too. Of course, the shop is still your main priority, but if you supervise this particular dungeon occasionally, it would boost your resources and you will ultimately be able to create a better dungeon experience for your customers." Yun opened a few more digital screens and showed Jin that he could even improve the dungeon levels with traps, equip his monsters with better equipment and a lot more other things.
"Kind of a stupid question but I need some clarification. If my monsters die in that world, they will need to be resurrected as well, right?" Jin figured that it had something to do with the "Souls" part of the resources since Yun did not explain much about it.
"Yes to your thoughts. We use the adventurers' souls to resurrect your monsters and even use those souls for your AIs. That is also where the Dungeon Dollars come in. In some mysterious way which I myself do not understand either, the system uses dungeon dollars to purchase souls if we are lacking in the Souls department. Of course, the undead zombies are way cheaper. For a price of one soul, we can bring back about 100 zombies." Yun confirmed Jin's queries.
"Wow! I am starting to doubt how something in me can be this complicated. Hmm… At this rate, it will be hard to always refer to the dungeon in the Dungeon World without a proper name, since I have many dungeons of my own." Jin remarked.
"Then what are you waiting for? Give it a name. After all, it's a sort of a personal dungeon that you will be handling."
"I will think about it, but how else can I help with the dungeon in the Dungeon World besides equipping my monsters?" Jin felt that he should do more than just putting more traps and finding more monsters to fill his 'personal' dungeon.
"Join in the dungeon and fight alongside your monsters," Yun said as she brought up another screen and showed that a group of fresh adventurers was preparing to go into Jin's personal dungeon.